


new year's light

by Gon (pepperedfox)



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 22:53:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17150609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepperedfox/pseuds/Gon
Summary: Holmes exhaled and his face was obscured by a cloud of white. “If you must know,” he said at last, “it is New Year’s. It is the time for a man to be with his colleagues and family for the sake of welcoming a brighter future together. But, as you know, Yelena, I am a creature of solitude. Furthermore, time means nothing to a Heroic Spirit. A new year is merely a marker for reference, nothing of great import. This was my sentiment while I was working under Babbage’s employ. However—”“However?” quipped Helena.“With all that Chaldea has accomplished in the past year, I have softened my stance. Were I able to, I would have invited Watson to join in the celebrations. Impossible, of course. So I came to you.” Holmes paused. “The woman I have not spoken to since the incident in the Himalayas.”---Helena and Holmes take a flying saucer ride one New Year's evening.





	new year's light

**Author's Note:**

> a secret santa gift for takomaryy! the fic references the chaldea ace story with helena and holmes. essentially, they traveled to the himalayas to find a mystical beast, only for one of helena's students to assassinate helena before holmes's eyes. snippets [can be found here](https://revelare.dreamwidth.org/404.html?thread=81044#cmt81044).

_It’s said that on the highest peaks of the Himalayas, where the gales gnaw through to the bones and the ice are as sharp as knives, there is a meadow shielded from the cold. No one knows how it’s managed to survive in such an unforgiving Hell, much less how it grew in the first place. Skeletons of an old cabin can be found, even though no human could have possibly lived at such a height. The rumors say the beautiful alpine flowers sprung from innocent blood, that their roots grow from the body of a teacher killed by her student…_

* * *

For the first time, the skies are clear for the coming new year. Gone are the clouds that walled the heavens from Chaldea’s sight. Now, when Helena looked out the window, countless stars winked back merrily, as though they were also celebrating their newfound freedom.

Though it was a little past midnight, the bright chatter and music of the party still echoed down the hallway. They were probably going to be up for another hour to give 2017 a proper welcome. For a second, Helena worried about Edison and Tesla. She tilted her head and listened close, heard no roaring or sparks, and relaxed. Breaking up a fight between those two wasn’t how she wanted to start her new year. No, she had a far better idea in mind.

Boots? Check. Snow jacket? Check. Telescope? Cleaned and ready. Regardless of how cold it got, Helena was more than prepared. She was a Slav, nursed upon sunless winters and frosted winds! Antarctica didn’t scare her.

“There we go,” she muttered. “I’ll be in and out before anyone knows it.”

Only, when she stepped into the hangar, she received a surprise.

A lanky, tobacco-smelling, smug-looking surprise.

“Ah!” Sherlock Holmes sprung up from behind a pile of boxes. His sudden appearance made Helena shriek. “Lady Yelena, what a magnificent coincidence. Whatever are you doing down here, away from the festivities?”

“Were you waiting here this entire time, Sigerson? You really must find better ways to spend your time!”

“Goodness, no. I simply followed you. Once I deduced you were headed outside, beating you to the hangar was child’s play.”

Helena frowned. “If you know me so well, then you should be able to tell me why I’m here.”

“Simple. The stars are outside.” Holmes hopped over. “How could an avid explorer such as yourself ignore the call of the Final Frontier?”

What an infuriating know-it-all. She should have expected as much from the Great Detective. Even when they were alive, he couldn’t resist sticking his long nose into other people’s business. Helena relented with a begrudging smile. “My destination isn’t as grand as space. That’s for another time. But,” she added on a brilliant whim, “come with me and I’ll show you where exactly I’m headed.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Fu fu fu. I know you won’t, Mr. Sigerson. You’re a curious puppy, no matter how much you try to hide it.”

That did it. Holmes’s face scrunched up, as if he took a bite out of something sour. “A puppy. Really?”

“Why, of course! ‘Up and at them, Watson, the game is afoot!’ How many times have you pulled the good doctor out of bed like that? See, Sigerson? It isn’t as fun when you’re on the receiving end. You can’t even bark a counterpoint.”

“There’s no point in responding,” Holmes sighed. “I’ve a feeling starting this debate will be mutually destructive.”

“Then let’s call a peace.”

Helena held out her hand. He shook it, his grip bony and firm.

“Hm. I’ll agree, but if you will permit me one more question…”

“Yes?”

“What will our mode of transportation be? Hiking on foot in this weather would be a little much, even for a Servant.”

She burst into a grin. A low humming reverberated throughout the hangar.

“Oh, you’ll see.”

* * *

 

Wind, cold and sharp, whipped against Helena’s red cheeks. It would be warmer to stay inside Sanat Kurama, but that would mean sacrificing the view. A little chill was worth bearing for a glimpse of the galaxy. She tilted her head back, her breath white like morning fog, and laughed out the fullness bursting in her heart.

“Woohoo! Look, look! You can see Chaldea’s tree from here!”

Her companion, who’d been hunched beside her like a silent mushroom, peered over the saucer’s side. “Indeed, you can. The Santas did a marvelous job in selecting the tree this year. By the way, how high are we going?”

“It’s a surprise, Mr. Sigerson, a surprise.”

Holmes sighed.

Contrary to what she said, they were descending. Mist swallowed them in murky blue and Helena readjusted their course. When they emerged, a sheer surface of snow and rock rose up before them. There was a subtle shift in the air. Helena didn’t need to look to know that Holmes was digging into his coat for his pipe.

An outcropping proved to be the perfect parking spot for Sanat Kurama. Holmes was out first. He offered his hand to Helena and did not let go until she and her belongings were on firm ground. He looked around him, puffing on his pipe with an intense expression.

“This is Vinson Massif, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I don’t mind parties, but a woman like me can’t stay in one place for too long. You know what I’m talking about. We’re guided by an innate compass. When something changes the direction, we must follow it. You and your mysteries, Mahatma and I… the universe guides our whims and desires. We’re natural explorers.”

“Hm. It’s been quite a while since I’ve heard your lectures on fate. It feels… nostalgic.”

“I’m glad to hear you missed me.”

“I said nothing of the sort. Please, do not speak for me, Madame Blavatsky.”

Still, it was good to have Holmes tagging along. Helena can’t remember the last time they had the opportunity to talk – a real, serious talk, not simple chit-chat. They saw each other in passing at Chaldea, but there was always one fire or another to put out. Added to that, Holmes was rarely seen outside the hangar, as he was always engrossed in a project. And, to tell the truth, Helena recognized that he’d been avoiding her. That was fine. To chase him would only make him run faster. A good teacher knew how to wait.

The telescope was easy to set up. Helena shuffled about with it, trying to find just the right place. “Then why did you come?”

“I thought my reason was obvious. To see where you were going.”

“But you must have deduced my plan long before I told you, Mr. Sigerson. I know you’ve solved cases with less clues. Does the Great Detective now content himself with obvious, straightforward mysteries?”

Holmes exhaled and his face was obscured by a cloud of white. “If you must know,” he said at last, “it is New Year’s. It is the time for a man to be with his colleagues and family for the sake of welcoming a brighter future together. But, as you know, Yelena, I am a creature of solitude. Furthermore, time means nothing to a Heroic Spirit. A new year is merely a marker for reference, nothing of great import. This was my sentiment while I was working under Babbage’s employ. However—”

“However?” quipped Helena.

“With all that Chaldea has accomplished in the past year, I have softened my stance. Were I able to, I would have invited Watson to join in the celebrations. Impossible, of course. So I came to you.” Holmes paused. “The woman I have not spoken to since the incident in the Himalayas.”

Helena turned around to look at Holmes. He stared back. One could never tell what exactly he was thinking. Something about those grey eyes defied all attempts to look in, not a single muscle in his pale face gave his thoughts away. That was fine. She knew better than to rely on his expressions to find the answers she was looking for.

After all these years, Holmes remained the same: outwardly solid like the marble statues he so closely resembled, all the while hiding a molten core.

She could leave the telescope alone for a bit. Helena patted down her jacket. She found the cigar in her left pocket, plump and whole, and motioned for Holmes to come closer. He did, with a curious crook of his brow.

“Do you have a light, Holmes?”

Wordlessly, he held the lighter to her cigar’s tip. The rich, earthen scent of tobacco filled the air between them. Her eyes did not waver from the flame flickering before her and she marveled at how steady his gloved hand was. With a metallic _click_ , Holmes snuffed out the fire. Helena exhaled smoke through her nostrils.

“New Year’s is about change, detective,” she said. “Have you been blaming yourself this entire time? That won’t do. I resolved to become a kinder woman since that day.”

“… you did, Madame Blavatsky, but—”

“Sherlock Holmes.” Glowing cinders fell from her cigar, like falling stars. Helena smiled. “Thank you for the light. Your debt is cleared.”

He looked at her the way someone might look at a whale flying. Incredulous. Stunned. None of those emotions strayed beyond his eyes, but Helena could see them rapidly flash by before the machine grey returned. Holmes relaxed and laughed, short and soft. “Ah, Yelena, you always make the absurd sound sensible.”

“There you go, thinly veiling your insults! You really should just say what you mean.”

“Why, I wasn’t hiding anything. I’m hurt that you’d insinuate that.” Holmes dipped his head. “I am grateful for the company you provided in the past, and for the company you’ll provide in the future. Thank you, for your forgiveness.”

“Enough of that. You always had my forgiveness and the Himalayas were years ago. This is a new year, Holmes! Forget our past adventures from a past life. Now—” Helena looked up at the brilliant sky, at the countless galaxies illuminating the darkness. “—we have new mountains to climb.”

“Ha ha. Yes, we do.”

* * *

_It’s said that, should you find this mysterious meadow, you’ll find no sign of life. No insects. No animals. Nothing, save for an unmarked gravestone curtained by moss, with flowers strewn before it, always fresh._


End file.
